Some Seitan Ideas and Vegan Cheezecake

Okay so here are some dishes I ultimately made with my most successful (to date) batch of seitan:
I have to say that VWAV (Vegan With A Vengence) Jerk Seitan is the BOMB!!

This one below was my lame attempt at Seitan Adobo, which in my mind was a really good idea, since I have been craving the adobo flavor, but in practice turned out just a sour mess, but the plate looked good. I offered it to my very wanna-b-veg dog, and even he had a hard time with it.

This is not Kapone after the food, but just a pic to give you a visual.

I also tried my hand at a cheeze steak. This was actually really good, but I want to tweak the seasonings a bit. I made the nutritional yeast cheeze sauce on the stove top for this one and I was pleased. I sauteed it with peppers, onions, and mushrooms. This is just the filling, because I didn't have a bun or sub roll handy for the pic, but it was good, let me tell you.

Finally, this I am really proud of, it is a cheezecake mainly derived from the baking sheet (via fat free vegan). I had to sub vanilla for the almond flavoring (I'm allergic to tree nuts) and I reduced the lemon juice and added some soy creamer, (which will start to coagulate on you if your not careful, who knew?), but the cake turned out really great. I threw some frozen fruit, wine and sugar on the stove for the topping.

Some Vegan Recipes I've been working on here lately.

Lasagna, inspired by Soul Vegetarian in D.C. I've tweaked it quite a bit (I use TVP and also make the cheese with a soymilk and toful mixture), but I do love this recipe.

Lasagna roll-up, my fiance' (self proclaimed skeptic of all things veg) really liked this one.

Vegan "Save a Veal" Parmezean. A baked seitan cutlet.

This is my snow day chilli. I made it with TVP, black beans, and kidney beans. It was good and my daughter and fiance' loved it.

Hopefull this is just a beginning for me. I absolutely love getting into the kitchen and experimenting with new vegan and vegetarian recipes. I am still on my path to converting for my sanity, my part and my health, but it is still a work in progress. Hopefully the pics will get better too :)

Come on Sunshine. . .

It has been raining for a week in Tidewater. I have just about had it, I assure you. I love the rain sometimes. Like when I don't have to get out of bed and it makes it a little bit darker in the room behind my blinds and the warmth of my comforter that much more satisfying. Or when it is rainy and cold, but not uncomfortable and it reminds me of a trip to Paris I took years ago, where it rained all week, but I could not of cared less, because I was in freakin' Paris and the buildings were beautiful even under the heavy weather. But today, I have had it. I need the warmth of the sun. I need to feel it on my skin and see it glisten off of the streets making illusion ponds. The sun makes me smile. I feel like my body is using my food better or something. I love solar panels, but today I say a prayer for those folks who are off the grid and have no real way of making their homes snuggly in this sunless stint.

As a result of the sunlessness (I will blame it on that) I am lacking motivation for anything. I am work right now, waiting to go on a lunch break. I need motivation. All I really want to do is look at vegan blogs and plan my wedding (which will be decidedly un-vegan, sadly, my mission to go vegan is stifled slightly by those around me, although my darling fiance is eating a lot less meat these days). I am very thankful for today, though, don't get me wrong. I feel remarkably blessed lately and a little satisfied even that I am at my middle again. But I am antsy, I do need to feel that I am continuously growing and striving toward some goal. Of course I just need to know what that new goal is. The clouds are not helping with guidance on that one. . . at all.